Lady Gaga: "I Was Bankrupt In 2009"

Despite selling millions of records and being one of the biggest pop stars on Planet Earth, Lady Gaga has revealed that astronomical tour overheads left her bankrupt five years ago.

Mother Monster says that at the time The Monster Ball Tour kicked off in November 2009 she had millions in the bank but decided to blow the lot on the extravagant stage production.

Speaking in the documentary Who the F**k is Arthur Fogel?, which follows the career of Canadian music promoter Athur Fogel, Gaga said: "I had three million dollars in the bank to my name and I threw it all in to make my stage. So I was bankrupt during the show."

Explaining that her family were bewildered by her financial troubles, Gaga added: “I remember I went home and I was with my dad and he said, 'I don't understand. 'Bad Romance' is out. You are all over the radio. Everyone is talking about you and you don't have a pot to p*** in'.

"I said, 'Just let me do this. Let me just put it on the stage because I think if I can do this I can get Arthur Fogel's attention.' And I did."

Gaga’s fortunes changed when Arthur Fogel offered her a lucrative global deal with promoters Live Nation.

She said: "I remember he called me and he said, 'We want to do this'. And he got Live Nation to write me a $40 million cheque. And it changed my life and the life of my whole family."

Gaga played a controversial show at South by Southwest in Texas last week which saw her get cooked on a spit road.